


No Quiet Find

by Whimsy12



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Kibbs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-28 21:50:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6346696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whimsy12/pseuds/Whimsy12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of possible "in-between" scenes that may have occurred between episodes, following the development of Kate/Gibbs' relationship from the perspective of different characters. Set before Twilight/assumes Twilight never happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Abby Sciuto

**Author's Note:**

> I was rewatching NCIS and decided I couldn't work in a fandom where Gibbs and Kate were never given a proper chance. Here's my stab at rectifying that! Story title based on Shakespeare's Sonnet #27.

_**Abby** _

There was something about the way Gibbs looked at Kate that made Abby pause, mid-victory dance. It was just a look – fleeting, almost nonexistent – a blink of an eye before his mask of indifference had smoothed away the flicker of softness that had emerged.

Abby turned around and busied herself with her keyboard, peeking up at Gibbs from below her bangs. Gibbs was in front of her desk, staring at the plasma, while Kate and Tony were bickering about one of the witnesses.

This was the third time this month Abby had noticed Gibbs give Kate _that_ look. A look that never quite escaped his eyes to the rest of his face, though sometimes Abby thought she saw the corner of his mouth twitch involuntarily, before being reined in. This tended to happen when Kate did something particularly clever (or particularly foolish, albeit ballsy).

And Abby knew that Gibbs liked ballsy.

At first, Abby had thought that it was just Gibbs’ way of showing affection, as he did for all his team members in different ways. But then, there were a series of outliers in her observations that made her rethink her hypotheses. There were things that Gibbs _didn’t_ do around Kate that he did in front of his other agents. He never once hit Kate over the head like he did to Tony, McGee and Abby; but he was surprisingly lenient when Kate made mistakes, in ways he never tolerated from the rest of the team. Based on her sample size of data, Abby could pretty confidently conclude that _that look_ was reserved only for Kate.

Abby’s next thought had been that Gibbs’ look was one of lust. After all, Abby had been on alert since the infamous _please_ during the Yankee White case that made it impossible to ignore the lingering touches and warm looks exchanged between the two. There was no denying that in a strange way, Gibbs and Kate were highly compatible. She remembered Tony telling her that sometimes, Kate was just a female Gibbs. But as much chemistry as there was between the two, Gibbs was above all a professional man whose job was his life; and the moment Kate had joined NCIS, Gibbs had shifted away from being the charmer, toward being the boss.

To Abby, the biggest give away was the way Gibbs couldn’t seem to control himself around Kate. He couldn’t keep his hands to himself, no matter the case. The way he had grabbed Kate toward him when teaching her how to rappel, his face nearly buried in her lap in the guise of checking her equipment. The way he had smoothed down Kate’s uniform when they were posing as marines in the recruitment office, passing his hands over her waist and shoulders not once, not twice, but three times before forcing himself to walk away. The way he stood close enough behind Kate to smell her hair, and whisper in her ear, telling her to trust no one. The way he seemed to remind her (or perhaps, remind himself?) too many times that “Romance between agents, Kate, never works.”

And then there was the way the indomitable Leroy Jethro Gibbs couldn’t contain his fear, his anger, when Kate was in danger. Only Abby knew after several days of prodding that Gibbs’ latest _bête noire_ had been of Kate lying on the autopsy table, cold and silent in death – a _bête noire_ that did not seem to extend to the rest of his team, even though Ducky and Gerald had also been abducted by Ari. For weeks, even Gibbs didn’t seem to trust himself, for fear that his emotions, his vulnerability, his anger, would cloud his judgment. It was only months after he had reconciled the fact that avoiding Kate wouldn’t return him to his own rational self that he sat her down in DC Beans and asked her to profile their terrorist.

The funny thing was, Abby thought, Kate seemed completely unaware of Gibbs’ attentions – though there were moments when Abby could swear she thought the infamous Secret Service Rosefern had caught on. Perhaps Kate was in denial that something could be there?

Abby was jolted back to the present when Gibbs barked at Tony and Kate to get back to work. As they scurried out of the lab, Gibbs took a swig from his coffee cup. Finding it empty, he tossed the cup in the trash and made his own way out of the lab. Right as he was about to walk out the door, Gibbs’ briefly met Abby’s intent gaze.

“What?” Gibbs bit out gruffly, noting the look dancing in Abby’s eyes. Abby debated whether or not to confront Gibbs about _that look_ – they were close, as close as one could be to Gibbs, but his personal life was never something she brought up first. Gibbs seemed to intuit her internal battle, and looked around at the lab, avoiding eye contact.

Finally, Abby cocked her head, her pig tails swinging from side to side, and grinned. “Nothing Gibbs, will beep you when the results come through.” Gibbs nodded curtly and walked out of the lab.

No, Abby thought. She would collect more data and watch Gibbs for a longer trial period before making any public declarations about her suspicions.


	2. Anthony DiNozzo

**_Tony_ **

Tony leaned back in his chair, his legs propped up on his desk, as he watched Kate fluff her hair and fix her makeup for the third time that night. It was end of business day, but everyone (including McGee) knew better than to leave before Gibbs’ say-so. Kate surreptitiously eyed Gibbs and nervously checked her wristwatch, as if checking to see if Gibbs would notice if she just slipped out.

Kate was objectively an attractive woman, Tony thought. Just too close to him for Tony to see her as anything other than an older sister. _Plus, packing one too many weapons and too high an IQ to date the likes of me_ , he thought with a chuckle. But what baffled Tony was how Kate seemed completely oblivious to her own beauty and charms. It was almost endearing to see how distrustful she was of genuine compliments when it came to her appearance. Anytime an undercover job required her to don a dress and highlight her attractiveness, Kate looked discomforted in her own body, overly conscious of how men looked at her in appreciation.

Tony watched as Kate pulled on a jacket, checked herself in the reflection of her computer screen, before pulling it off again. Then, after a second, she pulled on the jacket again. Kate glanced at Gibbs again, biting her lower lip. It was as if she wanted to ask Gibbs something, but decided against it. Gibbs was resolutely staring at his computer screen, seemingly oblivious to how Kate kept glancing up at him through her eyelashes.

“Big date tonight?” Tony called out toward Kate. She bristled, before shooting him a look.

“None of your business, Tony,” she replied, with a hint of waspishness in her tone.

“Hey, just taking a healthy interest in my coworkers,” he grinned. Leaning back even further in his chair, Tony continued. “You know, it looks better without the jacket.”

Kate glared at him, but after a few seconds, pulled off the jacket again, staring at the expanse of skin revealed. It was a conservative dress, but practically scandalous for Kate’s standards. The front of the dress had a modest boatline cut, but the back dipped daringly down her spine. Tony thought he saw Gibbs’ eyes flicker up from the top of his screen to glance at the back of Kate’s dress as it was revealed, but by the time Tony had swiveled around to face Gibbs, the boss had his eyes glued resolutely to his computer again.

The elevator dinged as a tall, handsome man strode out with a visitor’s pass hung around his neck. His eyes brightened in recognition as Kate stood up from her cubicle, anxiously smoothing down her dress. Tony thought he saw the hint of a holster around Kate’s right thigh as the fabric bunched around her legs, but before he could confirm, his view was obstructed by her desk. This time, Tony definitely saw Gibbs look up from his screen.

“Bill!” Kate called out breathily. “I just need to turn in this report and we can head out,” she said, gesturing toward the pile of papers she’d been obsessively straightening and restraightening all hour. Bill nodded before pointing to the men’s bathroom, leaving Kate to walk over to Gibbs and turn in her reports.

Gibbs did not look up from his computer, but nodded imperceptibly as she left the reports on his desk and made to walk over to her desk. She stopped for half a second, and looked at Gibbs, biting her lip again.

“Spit it out, Agent Todd,” Gibbs drawled, his eyes still on his computer.

“Er—“ Kate murmured before blurting out the rest of her sentence in one quick breath. “IsThereSomethingOnMyDressBecauseIKeepFeelingYouStareAtMe.” She expunged a loud breath of air. When Gibbs stared at her without responding, his face blank, Kate swore quietly under her breath before practically running toward her desk, blushing furiously. Gibbs continued to stare at her for a few seconds, before standing up slowly and walking around his desk toward Kate.

Gibbs lightly grabbed Kate by the wrist, stopping her. When she wouldn’t look up at him, he brought two fingers up to her chin, and forced her to meet his gaze. As usual, Gibbs was standing barely a few inches between him and Kate. _It’s like he can’t keep away,_ Tony thought.

Without speaking, or breaking his gaze, Gibbs brought the two fingers from her chin to her side, lightly skimming her waist down to the top of her right thigh where Tony had previously thought he’d seen the contour of a holster. Kate’s breath stuttered as she met Gibbs’ gaze. Lightly tapping his fingers on Kate’s hidden holster, Gibbs brought his hand back up her waistline, before shoving his hands into his pockets.

In a warm voice, Gibbs asked, “You packing, Kate?” fully cognizant of the answer. The corner of his lip twitching briefly in a semblance of a smile.

Kate gulped, and nodded silently, before finding her voice.  “Uh, always,” she said, clearing her throat.

Gibbs grinned for real this time, and stepped back to a more professional distance. “Good girl.”

Tony looked curiously from his co-workers, to Bill, who had paused in front of the elevator, watching the scene with some discomfort and curiosity. Kate stared as Gibbs retreated to behind his desk, before shaking herself from her thoughts and looking up at Bill.

“Oh!” Kate gasped, as if she’d forgotten about her date for a second. Glancing back at Gibbs, Kate ran over to her desk and grabbed her jacket, before leaving the bullpen.

Gibbs was staring at his computer screen again, as if the past five minutes had never happened.


	3. Paula Cassidy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode Tag for "Heart Break" 2 x 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Realized my story won't be following the show chronologically, so apologies for jumps in episode tags! Unresolved tension in this chapter, but I promise for more action soon!

**_Paula_ **

Paula Cassidy was not a stupid woman. Yes, she’d fumbled a few times working cases ( _Ok, more than a few times_ ), but she knew damn well that her gut was near infallible. Working with the Gibbs’ team for the past week on the “Spontaneous Human Combustion” case, Paula had watched and observed each and every member with a close eye. Given her history with Special Agent Tony DiNozzo (given her _mistake,_ she firmly reminded herself), she had found herself subconsciously watching one Special Agent Caitlin Todd with renewed interest.

            That is, she’d been watching to see whether the overt flirting she’d witnessed between Tony and Kate was just Tony being Tony, or something more serious.

            Paula tapped her foot a few times and leaned against the window, watching the bull pen with a keen eye. Kate was reporting to Gibbs, while anxiously eyeing her ringing phone. Tony was peering not-too-subtly at the caller ID, before Kate snatched the phone from under his nose. Paula heard Kate smile into her phone, as she greeted her obviously male caller. _So not a thing with Tony – yet_. Paula thought to herself.

            Paula was a pragmatist. She knew she was attractive. She knew men found her attractive. She knew Tony found her attractive. But she also knew Tony found _a lot_ of women attractive. So she had let him slide, putting him firmly in the category of “Fun, but not again.” Yet something about him made her second guess her otherwise steadfast gut when it came to men.

            Paula watched as Kate blushed, shaking her head and responding to her male caller. Then, in a flicker so fast that Paula thought she had imagined it, she saw Kate look up from under her eyelashes and look at Gibbs as she hesitated to answer her male caller. Paula leaned in a little closer, unaware that Tony was mirroring her exact body language to eavesdrop on Kate.

            “Ah – Well, you know, work,” Kate responded, in a barely audible voice. “Maybe next time?”

            Paula cocked her head in curiosity. As far as her knowledge went, Kate had been single for a very long time – but not because of a lack of male attention. It seemed as if Kate was the one who was unwilling to commit, easing away when things got too serious. Paula recognized the gesture, she’d done it one too many times to be unfamiliar with it. _Hell, she’d done it to Tony._

            “She does that a lot, you know,” a deep voice interrupted Paula’s thoughts, as she jolted to attention. Tony was standing by her side, eyes directed at Kate as she hung up her phone and walked back to Gibbs’ desk.

            “What, you interested?” Paula jabbed, trying to keep her tone joking, but internally wincing as she recognized the slight possessiveness creep into her voice. Tony looked at her curiously before smirking.

            “No, but it seems Kate might be in someone else, the rate she’s pushing all these men away. Have you noticed that not a single boyfriend seems to stick around for more than a date or two? I used to think it was, well, Kate being Kate and obsessed with work – but now, I’m not so sure.” He cocked his head and watched as Gibbs jerked his head sharply in acknowledgement, and Kate returned to her desk.

            “You two got evidence on our killer, or are you just going to stand there and gape,” Gibbs barked from his desk. Tony scurried back to his desk as Paul pushed off the wall, striding toward Kate.

            “Hey, want to head down to the lab and see what Abby’s got?” Paula asked Kate, who nodded in affirmation and grabbed her phone. The two women walked in silence to the elevator, and stood awkwardly next to one another once inside.

            “You know, he really likes you,” Kate blurted out, as the elevator ticked down the floors. Paul looked at her in surprise.

            “Who, Tony? He’s a lady’s man, he really likes all of us,” Paula responded, casually. Something Kate said had triggered a distant thought in the back of her mind, but Paula was unable to put her finger on it. Something about the way Gibbs had glanced up from his workload when Kate had answered her phone, and the way Kate had denied her male caller another date…all the while looking at Gibbs…

            “No, you’re different, Agent Cassidy,” Kate continued, striding out to the lab. “Trust me on this, I work with Tony and have gotten to know him like my brother. You’re not like the other women.” Before Paula could answer, Kate walked up to Abby and started talking about the evidence. Paula lingered back, thinking about what Kate had said, before joining the two women.

* * *

 

            The case had been solved, and an innocent man dead. Ducky seemed to be handling his disappointment fairly well; at least, for a man who had found out his latest love interest was a murderer. Paula was packing her bags, as she overheard Ducky offer his opera tickets to Agent Gibbs, asking if he knew where Agent Todd had gone.

            “Er – I think she’s down in autopsy,” Paula proffered. Gibbs stopped in his tracks, looked down at his coffee cup, and shook his head slowly. He pivoted sharply, with determination, and jabbed his finger into the elevator button, before disappearing behind closing doors.

            “First time she’s killed an innocent man,” Tony stated. “Albeit, to protect Agent Gibbs, but still in the eyes of Holier-Than-Thou-Catholic-Kate, this is probably a mortal sin.”

            “Not something to be so flippant about,” Paula responded. She asked abruptly, “Have you noticed anything about Agents Todd and Gibbs?”

            “What, the way they’re basically the grumpiest people in the entirety of DC?” Tony asked, twirling a pen in his hand, obviously checking Paula out.

            “No,” said Paula with some annoyance, placing a chair between her body and Tony’s gaze so that she could get his full attention. “You know how you said the other day that Kate doesn’t seem to have any long-term relationships, and how you thought something might be going on there?” Tony nodded, so Paula continued. “Have you ever thought she might be, well, into Agent Gibbs?”

            Tony stopped twirling his pen, before throwing back his head and barking a loud, melodramatic laugh. Paula crossed her arms in annoyance. “What, you think our girl Kate has the hots for Boss Man? Man, even she’s smarter than that!” Tony said, laughing again.

            Paula stomped from behind her chair toward Tony, leaning into his face with some menace.” “Well, _Tony_ ,” she gritted his name out through her teeth, “If you knew half as much about women as you claim to, you’d know that Caitlin Todd is letting _Boss Man_ affect her personal life, whether she knows it or not. She looked at him while she was talking to her date, hesitated when he asked her out again, and then – stared at Gibbs for a few seconds, before turning her date down. I'm a military interrogator Tony, I know these things. I’d bet good money that she’s into him.”

            Tony leaned back into his chair thoughtfully, placing the pen between his teeth. “And,” Paula plowed through, recalling a few other moments her gut had flagged down during the case. “Have you noticed how Gibbs has been riding us about relationships between agents – even though we showed no intention of forming any sort of unprofessional dalliance?” She ignored the way Tony’s eyebrows wiggled suggestively at the word “dalliance.” 

            “It’s as if he’s telling _himself_ that romance between agents don’t work. Like he needs reminding – or like she needs reminding from him – or something like that.” Paula threw up her hands in frustration, and ran them through her hair before pausing. “It’s like – he _knows_ she’s affected by him, and he can’t help himself by staying away. So he takes it out on someone else!”

            Tony remained silent, letting Paula’s words process through his mind. “You know one thing we could do?” Tony asked, a sly grin spreading across his face. “Let’s head down to autopsy and peak in through the door.” Paula looked aghast at Tony.

            “You do realize that Agent Todd is reeling from a traumatic experience. This isn’t a moment for you to butt into her personal life, Agent DiNozzo,” she responded sharply.

            “Awww, come on, Paula. You know you’re just as curious as I am. You can’t go back afloat without solving this one last case with me.” Paula hesitated, pursing her lips, before nodding sharply.

            “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” she grumbled under her breath, all the while letting Tony lead her toward the stairs, down to autopsy. Tony “shhhed” her, raising a finger to his mouth, as they leaned in front the staircase alcove and peered around the corner.

            “I killed an _innocent_ man, Gibbs. An _innocent_ man!” They heard Kate’s voice rise hysterically, her arms flailing wildly. Gibbs was inches away from her, standing stoically as Kate continued to stare at the body of Ensign Hayes, and back at Gibbs. She was biting her lower lip, as if trying very hard to stop herself from breaking down and crying.

            “Pull yourself together, Agent Todd,” they heard Gibbs say quietly yet firmly, still inches away from Kate. Kate whipped her body toward Gibbs again, and started pummeling her fists into his chest, her racked sobs echoing through autopsy. Paula heard Tony gasp a little in surprise, before muttering under his breath, "Oooh, not a good move, KitKat."

            Paula waited for Gibbs to grab Kate’s wrists, stop her from pummeling him, tell her to calm down, tell her sharply to "Get over it" – anything. What she did not expect was for Gibbs to just stand there, letting Kate pound on his chest before she collapsed in exhaustion, slumping against his body, still trembling from quiet cries of despair. After what seemed like several minutes, and no movement from the two agents in autopsy, Paula watched in shock as Gibbs wrapped his arms stiffly around Kate’s body, pulling her close. He tucked her head under his chin, and appeared to be stroking her hair as Kate continued to sob into his shoulder.

            “I thought he was going to shoot you, and I panicked,” Kate whispered, her voice muffled through Gibbs’ shoulder. Gibbs did not respond, but wrapped his hands around Kate’s shoulders, and pulled her closer to him.

            “Katie, you did everything by the book. He died in the only place he was ever happy. And you did _your job,_ ” Gibbs said firmly.

            Paula felt a jolt of guilt, and also of envy ( _when was the last time a man held her so tenderly?_ ) as she watched Gibbs and Kate hold onto one another in the darkened autopsy room. Feeling more than a little guilty, Paula tugged on Tony’s sleeve and gestured to move back upstairs.

            Ten minutes later, Paula watched as Gibbs strode out of the elevator toward his desk, as if nothing happened. The only tell-tale sign of anything from downstairs was a small, wet stain on his blazer lapel where Kate had sobbed into his shoulder. Gibbs sat at his desk as if nothing had happened, staring resolutely into his screen. A few minutes later, Kate walked out of the elevator, eyes red-rimmed, but with a more determined gleam in them. She too strode to her desk, and sat behind her computer.

            Paula stared in disbelief, her gut screaming at her. She finally understood what that uneasy feeling she had several days ago meant. _It wasn’t romance between agents,_ Paul thought. _It was a longing between two agents, too stubborn to acknowledge their own feelings, too intelligent to pretend like it didn’t exist._

            Paula shook her head, partly in sadness, partly in confusion. Sex, she understood. _This?_ She shook her head again. _This_ was a whole other matter.


End file.
